Democrats often send fundraising solicitations using the names of President George W. Bush and Karl Rove, the former president's ex-senior adviser who now advises the American Crossroads super PAC. Rarely, though, do they invoke the name of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).

But today, the campaign of Sen. Claire McCaskill (D) has raised the specter of Rove and McConnell, citing comments McConnell made to Roll Call during an interview to discuss the Senate playing field.

In an email with the subject line, "Mitch McConnell's hit list," McCaskill campaign manager Adrianne Marsh exhorts supporters to "Help keep Claire — and Minority Leader McConnell — right where they are in the Senate" by giving money to the McCaskill campaign.

McConnell "publicly announced recently that he's ready for an 'eye-gouging, shin-kicking contest,' if that's what it takes," Marsh wrote in the fundraising appeal.

In original quote, McConnell was referring to the general Senate landscape:

“I’m not going to make a prediction other than this: I think the Senate is going to be close, one way or the other,” he said. “It’s going to be an eye-gouging, shin-kicking contest all the way to the finish line.”

McCaskill, considered vulnerable in a state that's trending Republican, will face the winner of a contentious Republican primary between businessman John Brunner, former state Treasurer Sarah Steelman and Rep. Todd Akin.